The government has revoked the business registration of three tour agencies in Bangkok, ending their juristic person status after Chinese operators were found using fake Thai ID cards to run their businesses in Thailand.
Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the Business Development Department, said authorities would pursue criminal charges against people associated with the three companies: Fuan Travel, Xin Yuan Travel and Seatajaroen Co Ltd.
The revocation came after department authorities teamed up with tourist police, the Revenue Department, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police and army officers to raid Fuan Travel and Xin Yuan Travel earlier this month.
The two companies were owned and operated by a Somkiet Kongcharoen, whose actual identity belonged to a man who suffered from mental illness and died many years ago.
The raid also led to the later arrest of Thawan Jamchokchai, a Thai citizen named as a director of Fuan Travel and involved in providing fake ID cards for two Chinese tour guides there: Phuwadol Sukcharoen and Thanakrit Rinrat. An in-depth investigation of registrations found Mr Thanakrit is also a director and shareholder of Seatajaroen Co, which operates a tourism-related business.
Earlier last month, the Commerce Ministry revoked the business registrations of 13 companies under Tranlee Travel Co, which was suspected of being an illegal nominee for foreign interests.
Once deprived of juristic person status, the companies cannot continue business in Thailand. The department will take legal action against company executives who are not Thai citizens but hold Thai ID cards.
The government also put almost 23,000 companies on a blacklist of firms that pose a risk to do business with, as they have not given the exact locations of their offices or submitted annual financial statements as required.
Following inspections of 635,000 juristic persons registered, 22,992 were found to be deserving of special care in doing business with or contacting them.
Of the 22,992, some 7,293 were found to have no headquarters registered, 4,054 failed to submit annual financial statements as required, and 11,293 have not answered queries concerning their financial statements.
Others include juristic persons with names that resemble large or famous companies to mislead the public, and firms that had their business registration revoked.